When you turn on the news or check your phone, you might see a lot of national or international headlines. While The Courant mainly addresses local news, looking back on major events can be a reminder of things that we didn’t get to cover. For my first part of this series, I want to focus on something that should be familiar to most people, “The Academy Awards” (aka The Oscars). The 97th edition presented viewers with some universally loved films, as well as some that are not. “The Academy Awards” gave recognition to a wide variety of movies that have, as expected, sparked mixed reactions from people who agree or disagree with the winners.
The “97th Academy Awards” took place on March 2, 2025. The show featured many categories that platformed many different types of films. One movie that took over the entertainment industry when it was released was “Wicked”. The film garnered ten Oscar nominations, but won only two awards: ‘Costume Design’ and ‘Production Design’. After seeing “Wicked” back in 2024, this probably would’ve surprised me, but that might just be because the movie and references to it were inescapable after its release. Now audiences can only wait to see if “Wicked: For Good” will take more than two Oscars.
The Academy was met with controversy after they released the list of nominees for one main reason. There were thirteen nominations, which was the most any other film got this year, for “Emilia Pérez”. The film attracted significant pushback from viewers due to the portrayal and inaccurate representation of transgender people and Mexican culture. This only worsened once people discovered the very questionable digital footprint of Karla Sofía Gascón, the film’s nominee for Actress in a Leading Role. In the end, the film only took two Oscars home, Actress in a Supporting Role (Zoe Saldaña) and Music (Original Song) (El Mal). I can’t lie, the closest I’ve ever gotten to watching “Emilia Peréz” was when my friends and I had it on for no more than a few minutes before deciding it wasn’t worth watching a film with so much public criticism. Based on the backlash the film has acquired, I can say that I don’t regret that decision and I don’t plan on watching it any further.
“The Academy Award” gave us other highlights, including Adrien Brody setting the record for longest Oscar acceptance speech, when he accepted the award for Actor in a Leading Role for his role in “The Brutalist”. This was in line with the length of the film itself, which is 216 minutes long (imdb.com). “Anora” made waves, as it won five out of the six awards it was nominated for, including Best Picture. Two other surprises for me were the underperformance of “Conclave” and “The Substance”, who had eight and five nominations respectively. They both only won a single Academy Award, with “Conclave” winning Writing (Adapted Screenplay) and “The Substance” winning Makeup and Hairstyling. In my opinion, both films were worthy of more recognition, but at least they’ll still be engraved in Academy Award history.
“The Academy Awards” served as a mechanism to fit musicals, dramas, documentaries, animations, comedies, and more all into one show. Even though many, including myself, may not agree with every decision made that night, it was definitely a show to be remembered. ◼️
All facts and statistics regarding the Academy Awards are from oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2025
